Chapter 207

Thunder Dragon Namgung Cheon.

The upper-ranked member of the Seven Prodigies, and the twin older brother of Namgung Seong—the one who raised hell yesterday.

Even though he looks like a refined young nobleman, he’s the type who uses a somewhat violent, razor-sharp sword style.

As for his realm—honestly, I can’t say I know for sure just from looking, but at minimum he’s probably beyond pinnacle.

‘That’s why they call him an upper-ranked Seven Prodigies.’

A guy who’s now clearly going to lead the Namgung Clan.

If you look at the kind of crap Namgung Seong pulls, there’s no way the next Clan Head is anyone but Namgung Cheon.

‘It’s almost impressive how different they can be, even as twins.’

Same face, but their attitude and overall vibe are completely different.

If Namgung Seong is some twisted thing that’s gone way off the rails, then Namgung Cheon has something even more alien sitting inside him.

Of course.

‘That doesn’t mean he’s a decent human being either. Who knows.’

I can’t judge.

All I can do is see what other people can’t. It’s not like I can see everything.

Still.

‘Something feels off.’

If Namgung Seong is the kind of bastard you can just tell is an asshole at a glance—

Namgung Cheon is the kind of guy who feels subtly warped.

Either way, they’re the kind of people I want nothing to do with.

‘Ah, seriously. This bracket is such trash.’

And in the middle of all this, my draw kept coming up like a complete disaster.

Two straight matches against the Seven Prodigies?

And Wudang Cloud Dragon used to be considered lower-ranked, too. Now he was upper-ranked for real.

‘...I’m gonna lose it.’

The genius who’ll lead the Namgung Clan.

Just as my head started throbbing at the thought ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ of getting matched with Namgung Cheon—

“Hahaha.”

Laughter came from nearby. I turned at the familiar voice, and there he was—the very guy I’d been thinking about.

“My, my.”

Namgung Cheon’s gaze landed on me as he smiled like he was in a great mood.

“To have what I longed for come true so quickly... I couldn’t be more excited.”

“...Are you that happy?”

Was fighting me really that exciting? I stared at him like he was insane, and Namgung Cheon smiled wider.

“Isn’t that obvious? You’re the Little Sword Saint, aren’t you?”

“I’m not into that kind of thing.”

“Ahahaha! Even your jokes!”

“......”

Is he out of his mind? Who’s joking right now?

I already knew he wasn’t normal, but honestly, every time I see him, it’s enough to make my blood pressure spike.

So I tried to ignore him and move on—

“Ah, damn it all—!!!”

KWAANG—!!!

A massive boom erupted nearby.

“You goddamn—”

Heads snapped toward the sound. And of course, it was Peng Dojun. He was stomping the ground with his face twisted into something ugly.

THUD—!! THUMP THUMP—!!!!

It was so intense that every time he struck the floor, I could actually see the stone ground getting pulverized.

What the hell is wrong with that psycho...? Why is he losing his mind again—?

Then—

“Only Thunder Dragon gets to have fun...!! Why—!!”

“......”

I heard some truly ridiculous bullshit.

“At this point, shouldn’t I get matched too!!!”

KWAANG—!!!

No idea how far his rage had gone. He just kept throwing another tantrum, over and over. I was staring at him like I couldn’t believe my eyes when—

ZZZT—!

‘Oh, damn it.’

Peng Dojun’s eyes locked onto me. With a savage look, he started coming my way.

THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP—!

Maybe it was because he was huge, but even his footsteps felt ominous.

He came right up into my face, glared down at me, and said,

“Doesn’t it get old, fighting nothing but boring guys?”

“...What?”

“Damn it. I want to fight you too.”

“......”

Does it get old? Not even a little.

This wasn’t something that could even be called “getting old.”

‘This guy scares the hell out of me too.’

So he was this pissed because he couldn’t fight me?

I was honestly thrown. Why do these kinds of idiots keep getting interested in me?

‘I hate this. Seriously.’

All I wanted was to sigh, but I couldn’t exactly do that, so I forced myself to hold it in.

While I was forcing my reaction down—

“Ha... and they go and match me with some idiot like that.”

Peng Dojun muttered like he was mourning his own fate, staring off somewhere.

I followed his gaze.

‘Tang Cheon-il?’

It was the direction Poison Dragon was standing.

Peng Dojun was looking at Tang Cheon-il and complaining, while Tang Cheon-il was glaring back at him with cold, sharp eyes.

‘No way.’

I checked the bracket, just in case.

[Hebei Peng Clan Peng Dojun vs Tang Clan (Sichuan) Tang Cheon-il.]

“...Ah.”

So that’s how they’d set it up.

Now I got why they were reacting like that.

Peng Dojun was treating Tang Cheon-il like he barely existed—just ignoring him.

And Tang Cheon-il looked like he genuinely hated him for it.

The problem was—

‘...Isn’t the gap way too big?’

No matter how much Tang Cheon-il resented him, it didn’t look like he could bridge that kind of difference.

And Peng Dojun knew it, which was why he was acting like that.

This is boring.

That emotion filled his eyes to the brim.

“Haa...”

“...You bastard...”

After seeing that reaction, Tang Cheon-il ground his teeth.

He looked like he might rush in at any second.

“Tch.”

Peng Dojun clicked his tongue briefly after checking his momentum.

“Pathetic.”

Then he brushed him off like it was nothing.

And after that, he looked at me again.

“Make sure you win and come up.”

His gaze was glossy and chilling—like if I lost, he’d never let it go.

“If you lose to something like Thunder Dragon, I won’t let you off. No matter what, come up, Bang Sungyeon.”

“...No, I mean...”

Like that’s up to me.

‘Seriously—why are all these guys losing their minds at me?’

Thunder Dragon, Black-Grand Saber—

Why are these damned genius bastards all sticking to me and dragging things to this point?

My irritation surged hard.

“To call me ‘something like’... that’s a bit hurtful, isn’t it.”

And right on cue, Thunder Dragon’s expression creased. Peng Dojun’s words must’ve bothered him.

“I could win and end up fighting you, couldn’t I?”

“Hah.”

At Namgung Cheon’s words, Peng Dojun let out a scoffing laugh.

“Thunder Dragon. You say some funny things.”

“Hm?”

“Can’t you see?”

Peng Dojun’s eyes poured onto me with scorching intensity.

But the problem was—

“That ridiculous thing?”

The end of his gaze wasn’t me.

It was Yoo Cheongil behind me.

Heaven-Martial Body.

Even Yoo Cheongil had sensed that absurd body.

It wasn’t like he could see him clearly—more like he could only grasp him through pure presence.

‘...What do I even do about that annoying misunderstanding?’

Peng Dojun already believed Yoo Cheongil’s presence was my power.

Was that why he was so obsessed?

And on top of that—

“You can’t win. Thunder Dragon—if you can’t see that, you’ll never win.”

He said it with absolute conviction—that Thunder Dragon could never beat me.

“...That’s absurd.”

A smile formed at Thunder Dragon’s lips.

A vicious, terrifying smile.

“It’s been a while since I’ve felt this... irritated. If that’s how it is, then I’ll have to show you.”

CRACKLE—!

A faint trace of thunder energy brushed my senses.

Ah, this feels like it’s going to go to hell.

“Black-Grand Saber. You’ll regret what you just said.”

“No—wait, hold on. I think there’s a misunderstanding here.”

Why are you two measuring dicks with me stuck in the middle?

I rushed out,

“Fight each other if you want—why are you dragging me into—”

“Hah. Regret? Don’t make me laugh. I’ll even stake my cherished weapon on you losing.”

“What are you saying, you insane bastard?”

“Fine. Then I’ll stake mine on winning.”

SHIIIING—!

Namgung Cheon drew his sword.

A dazzling blade was revealed to the world.

It was a sword with faint blue embroidery-like patterns traced along it.

“I’ll stake my Azure Wolf Sword.”

“......”

Even at a glance, it looked like a famous blade.

And they were staking those things like idiots.

And Peng Dojun’s saber, too—

‘That’s a clan symbol-weapon.’

If it was the weapon used by the Peng Clan Heads, then it had to be worth a ridiculous amount.

“Fine. Let’s do it.”

“I’ll make sure I see you regret it.”

They kept grinding their momentum against each other, back and forth, until Namgung Cheon turned first and walked away.

I watched his back recede, then turned to Peng Dojun.

“...Are you insane?”

“Hm?”

“Why would you stake that? What if I lose?”

This wasn’t Peng Dojun’s match.

It was mine. And he was staking his cherished weapon here?

To Central Plains martial artists, a cherished weapon is basically as valuable as your life.

Seeing him toss it down like it was nothing was just ridiculous.

“Ah.”

Peng Dojun smiled bright at my words.

“Don’t worry. You’ll win, right?”

“...No. I could lose.”

My opponent was Thunder Dragon.

Maybe Peng Dojun thought I looked incredible, but I knew better than anyone that the reality wasn’t that simple.

I exhaled into my words—

“No. You’ll win.”

Peng Dojun said it with eyes full of certainty.

I tilted my head and asked,

“And what’s that certainty based on?”

His confidence was so firm it felt weird, so I asked.

“I’ve always got a good gut feeling.”

Peng Dojun grinned like it was the easiest thing in the world and said to me,

“You’ll win. My gut says so.”

“......”

Absolute certainty.

Saying I’d win.

Even though he was exactly the kind of person I never wanted to deal with, that confidence hit me in a way I didn’t expect.

‘Damn it.’

My favorability shouldn’t be going up. Getting tangled with someone like this always drags trouble in its wake, so I shouldn’t get involved.

I shook my head to clear it.

Still—

‘...You’ll win.’

I grabbed onto that line and tucked it into my chest.

Because—

‘Yeah. I’m not planning to lose.’

Just like Peng Dojun said, I had no intention of losing my match with Thunder Dragon.

And I’d prepared something for it, too.

When that crossed my mind—

‘Maybe I can win.’

A strange confidence was swelling inside me.

*****

Right as the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering’s real tournament was about to begin.

In a place where the noise couldn’t reach, past the roaring cheers—

Inside the room commonly called the strategist’s office, in Thousand-Mile True Sight Jegal Jin’s quarters, Jegal Jin had set a cup of tea down and was staring a hole through a letter.

The tea he’d carefully warmed had long since gone cold.

And the letters that should’ve been processed and finished by now were still stacked up in dense piles.

Paperwork that had to be handled before nightfall.

With Jegal Jin’s personality, he never put that kind of thing off—he should’ve already finished everything.

But he hadn’t.

“Hm...”

The problem was the letter he was holding.

It wasn’t a letter with much written on it. Just a short message, and no sender name.

Since it was a message the Beggar Clan had delivered, he could find the sender if he wanted.

But as far as Jegal Jin was concerned, that wasn’t the issue.

“...What do you think?”

At Jegal Jin’s words, the figure across from him—

Divine Spear—reacted.

“What is it.”

At that heavy reply, Jegal Jin handed over the letter.

It was a bit of a distance away, but as Divine Spear reached out—

FWOOOOOOOSH—!!

The letter rose into the air and flew into his hand.

He’d casually used Air-Lifting, something reserved for absolute masters.

Then Divine Spear took the letter and read.

“......”

His heavy brows moved, just slightly.

The contents of the letter were simple.

They were about one person.

[Demon Cult has appeared.]

[Baek Clan is in danger.]

Just two lines.

“Hm.”

After reading it, Divine Spear rose slowly to his feet.

His massive frame revealed itself fully.

And in that moment—

FWOOOOOO...

Strength began to seep into Divine Spear’s eyes.

Anyone who knew him would know.

Those eyes meant Divine Spear was furious.

Then—

“Demon Cult.”

With Divine Spear’s low words, his presence shifted.

“Ah—wait—!!”

Jegal Jin hurried to speak after seeing it, but—

WHOOOOOSH—!!!

A stormwind exploded from Divine Spear’s body.

A tremendous gale ripped through the room.

“...Hey—!”

As the neatly arranged letters went flying, Jegal Jin shouted again—

But it was already too late.